[Sam]

Jason Deans
Monday January 29, 2007
MediaGuardian.co.uk


The return of Richard Hammond to Top Gear for a show featuring footage of his life-threatening crash attracted nearly 8 million viewers last night - a huge audience for BBC2.
Top Gear overshadowed the first hour of Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother final and also proved more popular than ITV1's Wild at Heart.

The BBC2 motoring entertainment show was watched by an average of 7.9 million viewers and attracted a 28% share between 8pm and 9pm, according to unofficial overnights.

Ratings peaked in the final quarter hour of the show, which featured footage of Hammond's high speed crash, with 8.6 million viewers and a 30% share.

The highest-rating BBC2 show last year was the final of The Apprentice, which attracted 5.9 million viewers. Top Gear's best 2006 audience was 5.3 million viewers.

Celebrity Big Brother's first hour last night from 8pm attracted 4.9 million viewers and a 17% share against Top Gear.

The reality show's ratings grew in the second hour from 9pm, when Shilpa Shetty was named the winner.

Across the 9pm hour Celebrity Big Brother averaged 6.8 million viewers, peaking with 7.3 million in the final quarter hour up to 10pm. Overall, the final averaged 5.8 million viewers between 8pm and 10pm.

Several Sunday night regulars suffered ratings dips because of Top Gear and the Celebrity Big Brother final.

ITV1's Wild at Heart was down by 1.8 million viewers and nine share points compared with last Sunday.

In the 9pm slot, Waking the Dead on BBC1 was off by 600,000 viewers and three share points week on week; while ITV1's Trial and Retribution was down 500,000 and three share points.

Overall, the controversial fifth series of Celebrity Big Brother averaged 4.4 million viewers and an 18% share.

This was the second-lowest of the five Celebrity Big Brother series in ratings terms, above only January 2005's third run. Last year's George Galloway show averaged 5 million viewers and a 20% share.

Elsewhere yesterday, the second episode of Channel 4's other controversial reality show, Shipwrecked, attracted 1.1 million viewers and a 5% share between 6.40pm and 7.40pm.

Shipwrecked was actually down by 100,000 viewers compared with last Sunday's opening instalment, which provoked nearly 500 complaints to Ofcom over allegedly racist comments made by one of the contestants.

Last night, Shipwrecked was up against BBC1's movie repeat Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which was watched by 4.2 million viewers and attracted a 16% share between 6.45pm and 9pm.

On ITV1, Emmerdale attracted 8.1 million viewers and a 34% share from 7pm; while Coronation Street followed up with 10.2 million and 40% from 7.30pm.

BBC2's Sunday night wildlife offering began with My Life with Animals: Charlotte Uhlenbroek, which attracted 2.3 million viewers and a 10% share over 30 minutes from 6.40pm.

Then a double bill of Meerkat Manor drew 2.8 million viewers and an 11% share; followed by 3.3 million and 13%, in the 50 minutes from 7.10pm.

After Top Gear, The Weird World of Louis Theroux provided a warm-up for the presenter's new BBC2 series with a look back at some of his previous quirky interviews and profiles between 9pm and 10.10pm.

The Weird World of Louis Theroux was watched by 2.2 million viewers and attracted an 8% share.

Over on Channel Five, a movie repeats double bill of The Nutty Professor and Star Trek: Insurrection each attracted 1 million viewers and a 4% share between 7pm and 11pm